You know, sometimes I wonder is it finally time to change the name of this blog to “What Did The BBC Do This Time?” It seems to be what I talk about a lot these days. And ten years ago, I would have been surprised about the fact a lot of my life is now spent complaining about the Beeb. After all, the BBC gave us Dr Who, it gave us all those David Attenborough documentaries, it gave us television with no ads! The BBC gave us so much cool stuff, and yet, the organization is completely rotten to the core, and no amount of excellent footage of David Attenborough in the most remote part of the world talking about an extremely rare bird that only imitates electronic appliances built between 1983 and 1985, or no amount of episodes of Doctor Who where the Doctor defeats an entire army of daleks using the deux ex machina setting on the sonic screwdriver, can ever change the fact that the BBC has the moral compass of, eh, a dalek!
So, let’s get to it, What Did The BBC Do This Time?
During the BAFTAS, Micheal B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were presenting the first award of the night, when something deeply upsetting happened. The n word was yelled at the two men as they were presenting the award.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/QUVmzxACWyg
This word has no place in any civilized society, and I’m frankly sick to death of the fact that some white people try to make excuses for saying it, such as, “If it’s okay for black people to say it, why can’t white people say it?” Or the other excuse I hear is, “We need to take away the power of the word by saying it.” White people have never had to endure having this horrific term of abuse directed at them, and the fact that some white people think they can lecture black people on how to feel about this word is just, beyond embarrassing. I’m white and I can live my life quite happily without saying this word, it’s quite easy actually!
However, while, even in this particular case, the word was still deeply offensive and humiliating for black people to hear, and the context doesn’t change that, the context is still relevant. Because the word was spoken by a man named John Davidson, who has Tourette’s syndrome, and for him, it can cause him to, completely involuntarily, shout out socially taboo words, or in this case, a word heavily associated with systematic dehumanization of black people that they have endured for centuries.
John Davidson could not control what he said, it’s a medical fact. So anyone trying to say that he did it deliberately, is ableist and disgusting.
Both things can be true. The word is despicable, and is deeply horrible for black people to hear from a white person, in any context whatsoever, and, certain disabilities and conditions can cause people to utter this word, without any control whatsoever.
And so, I’m happy to tell you that kindness, compassion, and respect for all parties involved won out that night. The BBC owned up to their mistake, and made sure that both the black community and the disabled community were shown the sensitivity, respect and…..
Of course you fucking know I’m joking. We live in a dystopia, and what happened next was an absolute shitshow of racism and ableism. Remember, we live in 2026, the year where basic decency is on life support it seems!
The Priorities Of the BBC
Even though nothing surprises me anymore, I’m going to assume that the fact that John Davidson’s unfortunate outburst was clearly audible to both Micheal B Jordan and Delroy Lindo, was an unfortunate mistake on the part of the organizers. It’s important to remember Hanlon’s Razor with regard to these things, “Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanlon%27s_razor
So, due to an unfortunate series of errors, John Davidson was audible to both Jordan and Lindo. Could anything have been done at this point to make the situation less painful for both the black community and the disabled community?
Yes, plenty could have been done, but the BBC didn’t do it.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz6edwg06n1o
Despite the broadcast being on a two hour delay, the BBC, with their strange set of priorities, chose not to edit out the n word.
But, you might say, doesn’t the audience at home deserve an authentic representation of everything that happened that night, both good and bad? Aren’t those sitting on the couch at home entitled to experience exactly what those who had tickets to the BAFTAS experienced?
For this argument to work, the BAFTAS would have had to been broadcast completely unedited, with nothing left out whatsoever. And you better believe that’s not what happened.
Wale Davies and Akinola Davies Jr were Bafta winners that night, for their film, My Father’s Shadow. These are their speeches.
Akinola finishes his speech by saying “Free Palestine”. Which the BBC edited out.
Eh, what? If they had edited out both the n word, and “Free Palestine”, perhaps an argument could have been made that the BBC just wanted to edit out any word or phrase that was offensive to any conceivable person. I would have still thought the BBC were absolute pricks for editing the speech, but at least it might have been somewhat plausible to make that argument. But what the BBC did, was censor a black man declaring solidarity with the people of Palestine, but left a horrific term of racial abuse completely uncensored.
That seems a bit racist to me!
Divide And Conquer
What happened next was, frankly, the last thing anyone concerned with justice needed. The genocide in Gaza is still going on, despite what the powers that be will tell you. The genocide in Sudan barely gets even a whisper in mainstream media. There is a strong danger that those exposed as serial sex abusers by the Epstein files will walk free. The rich and powerful are still causing a climate catastrophe, knowing that they are old enough and rich enough that they will never have to live in the burnt out husk of a world that they are leaving for the rest of us. Surely this is the time we all need to unite. Surely this is the time when the poor, the marginalized, and the downtrodden, need to unite to make a better world for us all.
But it looks like that’s not happening, because we live in a dystopia. Instead, many people have divided themselves into two ridiculous factions, Team Racism And Team Ableism. So from Team Racism, you’ve got Tom Slater, who likes to complain about “The woke sorting of people into oppressed and oppressor, into a hierarchy of victims” while at the same time believing the hurt feelings of Israelis are more important that the lives of people in Gaza. And he completely dismisses the hurt and pain that the n word causes as nothing more than “the briefly hurt feelings of black millionaires”.
https://spectator.com/article/what-happened-to-inclusivity-at-the-baftas
So that’s Team Racism. What have Team Ableism got to say for themselves? Well, on Team Ableism, we’ve got Jamie Foxx. When I first heard his criticism of John Davidson, I was willing to assume he didn’t know Davidson had Tourette’s, and was responding as though somebody said the n word deliberately and maliciously. And I was willing to say, with the limited information that Jamie Foxx had, fair enough.
But I later found out that Jamie Foxx said, “Nah he meant that shit” knowing full well that John Davidson had Tourette’s.
https://www.tmz.com/2026/02/23/jamie-foxx-baftas-tourettes-outburst/
Before I type another word, I want to reiterate something important. The fact that Davidson’s outburst was involuntary, in no way means that black people have to “get over it”. One of the cruelest and most disgusting words in the English language was uttered that night, and no black person should be asked to put aside the pain and hurt contained in that word.
But what Jamie Foxx did, was to claim that John Davidson said the word intentionally. And that is completely unacceptable. Imagine having to spend your whole life being ostracized because you can’t control the words coming out of your own mouth, and then someone like Foxx declaring to a massive platform that the word you said was uttered with deliberate malice?
Can the BBC do anything to make this right?
Look, I know the BBC don’t care about the damage and hurt they’ve caused to the black community and the disabled community, but I think it would be a useful thought experiment. If the BBC wanted to make things right, at this point, could they?
I can’t answer that question, I’m not black, and I don’t have Tourette’s. While I’m autistic, and have experienced ableism, I still don’t understand the specific ableism that people with Tourette’s experience. So let me rephrase this. If, due to some miracle, the BBC developed a conscience, is there anything they could do that might make things at least a little better?
Part of the problem is, that the whole thing is being treated as, black people on one side, and people with Tourette’s on the other. That’s part of the reason this divide and rule bullshit is working so well. That’s part of the reason that, in a world of poverty, climate change, multiple genocides, and the collapse of civil liberties in so many countries, people have been drawn into choosing whether they stand with the black community or the Tourette’s syndrome community, even though the answer should be, always and forever, that they stand with both.
If the BBC wanted to try to make things right, I think the first thing they should do would be to promote the work of black people who have Tourette’s. Watch this video where a black woman with Tourette’s explains what living with the condition is like:
It’s almost like trying to divide people along racial lines and disability lines doesn’t make sense, because black disabled people are a thing that exists! Here’s another video where a black woman with Tourette’s gives some facts about her condition, and sheds light on what it is like for John Davidson:
So, since so many people are taking a side, standing with the Tourette’s community or standing with the black community, which side do you expect these two women to take?
Don’t Be Distracted By All This
I don’t want to be misunderstood when I say that this whole fiasco has been a distraction. The black community did suffer because of what happened, and the Tourette’s syndrome community did suffer because of what happened. When I say it’s a distraction, what I mean is, remember when all the media was talking about was the Epstein files? Remember when all anyone was talking about was that prick Mandelson, and The Nonce Formerly Known As Prince? Now that coverage has decreased a bit, as two marginalized communities are pitted against each other.
I’m a white autistic guy from Cork. I will never know what it’s like to be mistreated because of my race. And while I know ableism, I will never know the specific ableism that people with Tourette’s Syndrome experience. But I do know one thing. I am not picking a side. This is people’s lives we’re talking about, not a goddamn soccer game. We should always stand with the disabled community, and with people of colour. Because every time those without power fight amongst themselves, those with power rejoice at the amount of absolute bullshit they’re able to get away with.
I don’t believe this is the first time, or will be the last, that those in power attempt to divide us amongst ourselves. Let’s hope we don’t fall for it next time.
Ponderings Of An Autist 